Down the Rabbit Hole
by Nuclotei
Summary: Tokyo was home, so why was it so hard to return? Her wish had come true, her friends were all living normal lives, all safe. She thought she could handle being alone, even as she began to be sucked down the rabbit hole. AU Usagi/Mamoru
1. Prologue

A/N: So I know I have several other stories that need to be worked on and haven't been updated in forever but I found this among my things and figured I'd type up a prologue to see if anyone wants me to continue this story. Just throwing it out there. If I have fans then I'll write more. This idea hit me in the middle of a meeting at work. Talk about bad timing! ^^;

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sailor Soldiers, I just screw them up to entertain fans.

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><p>"…"Dialogue<p>

'…'Thoughts

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Down the Rabbit Hole

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Prologue

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She ran.

Ran until her lungs felt as if they were going to burst, as fire scorched her throat, raw and dry. The woods were unforgiving; the trees looming with their branches, thick and thin snagging her hair, tearing her clothes and snapping harshly against her bare skin.

Her heart pounded painfully against her rib cage, from fear, from exhaustion and made her adrenaline soar as she spotted a clear break in the trees.

"Mommy!" A small voice called desperately, echoing in her ears, in her head and a scream broke through the panting breaths that drove her.

"Don't call me that! You're not my child! I have no child!" She screamed into the night and as her dirt covered white gloves, tattered from the elbow down tore through the last of the branches her heart leapt into her throat in joy.

She had escaped.

The heels of her knee high red boots dug hard into the ground as her bruised knees bent then launched her into the clearing.

The cool air soothed her scratches and cuts as she jumped and the remaining of the constricting branches broke around her body as she lurched herself free. She held her breath as her hand reached forward, extending her body and she hoped her leap. Her blonde hair swirled around her as she seemed frozen in the air for a mere moment, her blue eyes trailing the skyline then dropping below her as her momentum failed to carry her any further.

She didn't bother to scream as the endless web of thorns rushed up to meet her and she hoped feverishly that she would just fall to her death as she closed her eyes.

"Oh Mommy." The child like voice chided as her limbs were caught, tangled and painfully enslaved.

As her world thankfully began to blur around the edges the last thing she heard before sinking into the darkness was the sound of laughter that she would never forget.

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><p>AN: Leave a review if you want me to write more! I'm trying out this writing for 90 minutes everyday thing to hopefully build up my writing strength everyday so I have a feeling I'll be updating things a lot more!

…Nuclotei


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everyone! I have finally got this story underway as you can see. I made sure to plan the whole thing out so there won't be any weird gaps in the story line or anything like that. I can say that this chapter is going to be a bit boring, considering it's the chapter that's going to set everything up, but if you can stomach it, I promise future stories will be much more exciting! By the way, think of this like everyone is in the manga more so than in the anime. More depth and interesting personalities I think!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sailor Soldiers. I just screw them up to entertain fans.

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><p>"Dialogue…"<p>

'Thoughts…'

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Down the Rabbit Hole

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Chapter One

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"_Usagi-chan?" She turned her face upwards towards the taller girl, beautiful green eyes shining in a smile, framed by soft brown hair._

"_Hm?" Usagi blinked a bit, gathering her surrounds back as the hustle of people going to and from their destinations had somehow before that very moment been lost to her. _

"_When we first met, why is it you weren't afraid of me?" The girl asked, rose bud earrings twinkling in the sunlight._

"_Oh, ah…" Usagi tilted her head to the side, a stream of blonde hair falling over one shoulder as she chewed on her lip in thought. "Oh! Because, you are the best cook I have ever know!" She grinned at the taller girl. _

"_I see." The green eyes watched her for a moment as the sunlight slowly faded behind grey clouds. As the warmth of the summer day was swept away by a freezing wind, and snow began to fall, them no longer standing on a sidewalk, but now in a frozen plain. _

_Usagi shifted as the snow blew around them, felt herself shiver as the feeling of dread skittered up her spine. She looked around, blue eyes searching for the people, the buildings, the warmth and were left shocked at the frozen, empty wasteland around them._

"_Usagi-chan?" She shifted to look back at the taller girl whose eyes no longer shined and whose face was stony and cold, forehead outlined in a golden tiara with a jewel matching the emerald green of her eyes. _

"_Y-yes?" Usagi felt her heart start to pound in her chest as the feeling of dread grew inside of her, like a sickness. _

"_Why did you let me die?" She let out a short scream as the ground in front of her exploded and guarded her face with white glove covered arms as she fell onto her knees in the snow. _

"_Jupiter?!" She called out frantically, afraid to look for a moment as silence met her ears then slowly lowered her arms as her pupils shrank in disbelief. _

"_Usagi-chan, why did you let me die?" The voice echoed in her head as she tilted her head back, the girl's body hanging limply towards the ground, frozen in a crystalline tomb from the torso down as her eyes stared blankly at the younger girl._

"_Jupiter!" The blonde stumbled to her feet as she reached out towards the girl. "Jupiter?!" She screamed and her voice caught in her throat as tears blurred her vision. _

_Her heart pounded in her head as she clamped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes with a desperate shriek. "Mako-chan!"_

She jerked awake quickly, her body tense and a thin sheen of sweat covering her face as her eyes adjusted to the ceiling above her. Breathing in deeply she slid her hands across the sheets before pushing herself up to sitting, golden hair falling around her naked torso as morning sunlight streamed in through her apartment window on the 14th floor.

Pushing her fingers through her hair she slid out of bed and re-buttoned the nightshirt she had dismantled during the night and walked across the cold wooden floor to the bathroom.

Leaning against the sink she turned on the water, tying her long hair back from her face as she splashed herself with a shiver, washing the last of the dream and the sickness away.

Taking another deep breath she stood straight and stretched, looking at herself in the mirror. It had taken her several years to do so without seeing a scared little girl staring back at her and now that she was a grown woman, she thought she looked pretty decent. Her face was longer, angled, her eyes softer and her lips plumper. She shifted and her nightshirt pulled across her chest and she noted her lips weren't the only thing that were plumper with an amused thought as she moved back into the living room of her studio apartment and grabbed clothes to get dressed for the day.

"Of course where I seem to always be lacking is height." She said aloud to herself as she got dressed then put her hair into two buns, tails streaming down her back. It might have been a childish look, but it was somehow comforting now that she was back.

Shifting she turned, glancing out of the sliding glass door that lead to the balcony where the city of Tokyo buzzed on the streets below.

"Back, just like the nightmares." Shaking her head she grabbed her purse and walked out, skirt swishing against her thighs as she locked her apartment door and exited the building.

…

The air was a bit too stifling in the early summer day and she found that it was a bit harder to breathe; but if it was from the heat, or from her days mission she wasn't quite sure.

Her heels clicked on the sidewalk as she watched the faces in the crowd walk past her, desperately hoping she didn't run into a familiar one. Rounding the corner, her heart pounded a bit faster as she moved past a familiar house eyes closing briefly as her body braced, quickening her steps to move past it without incident.

Seven years of not seeing it didn't make it any easier to think about the house that was once her home, that she was very much a stranger to now.

'Alone. You're so alone.' The thought brushed her mind and she shook her head once, firmly as if trying to shake free of the thought.

"Get a grip Usagi." She hissed at herself as she purposefully slowed her walk and lifted her head as she moved into a shopping district. She had hoped that the arcade would still be there after all of those years, but hoped even more that the one she wanted to see would still be hanging around there as well, "playing" a game of Sailor V after the lights go off.

Pausing outside of the arcade she looked around slowly, eyes not looking up, but down at the sidewalk, searching. Taking a deep breath of that thick humid air she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the embarrassment that was sure to follow her next action.

"Luna!" She called and felt her cheeks flush a bit as people turned to look at her. "Ah, sorry. I was looking for my cat." She felt sheepish as she moved a bit down the sidewalk, looking everywhere she'd think a normal cat would be hiding, oblivious that her cat peered down at her from the roof of the arcade. "Luna!" Usagi called again and searched more before biting her lower lip.

"Usagi." She shifted, hearing her name faintly and looked around, brows furrowing. "Usagi-chan!" Something hissed above her and she took a step back, looking up and was greeted with a warm body plowing into her face, nearly knocking her over.

"Ack!" She grabbed onto the body quickly, lifting it away and was met with golden eyes of a cat with a curious bald spot. "God, you scared me to death." Usagi let out a slow breath then set the cat slowly on the sidewalk then moved away from the animal, slipping into the nearest alleyway free of spectators.

The cat followed.

"Next time, try not landing on my face." Usagi turned and looked down at the cat before crouching. Luna watched her silently for a moment, feline body ridged then sat promptly on the concrete, back straight, front paws together like a stiff soldier.

"You came back." The statement sounded cold, distant, and Usagi had more than expected that though the sound of it still made her stomach twist uncomfortably.

"I did." Usagi nodded just a bit, golden bangs falling more across her forehead.

"You look well." The cat gave her a once over. "You look grown up."

"Well, I am twenty-one." She tried for a smile and was met with nearly a minute of silence then Luna laid her ears back with a growl.

"You could have said something, you could have called, written, something! After what you asked me to do, and what you asked me not to do you should have at least cared enough to check up on me, on us!" She hissed out and Usagi made a soft noise, one of regret and self disappointment, reaching out to brush her fingers over Luna's soft head.

"It was…complicated. It was so complicated Luna. I wanted to call, to check back, but I had to forget."

The cats ears remained pinned back aggressively, or maybe defensively, it was so hard to tell.

"I could have made you forget, like the others!"

Usagi shook her head no slowly in response, if she had been sure of anything, it was this.

"I needed to forget in my own terms." It didn't seem like that explanation was enough, she felt the need to say more so she made a reasonable excuse in her mind to the judging feline. "I was a young girl, it wasn't the best way to do things, I know, but Luna, I'm back now."

"For what? What is there for you here?" That one stung, and the woman's azure eyes reflected the sting as she turned her gaze elsewhere in the alley, softening her voice in reply.

"You're here, they're here." Blinking rapidly a few times, Usagi looked back to Luna, hoped that it would be enough. God she wanted it to be enough.

"So what do you want, Usagi? You want to start over? To pretend that you didn't abandon me, that you didn't abandon your duty?" Was the hiss that answered the blonde's statement.

Anger suddenly flared to life, anger and hurt. Was all the cat cared about duty? Why was it always her duty?

"Have you needed her since then?" Usagi snapped. "Have you needed Sailor Moon since then? Since the soldiers died, since I died, since he died?" Her voice strained at the end and she took a deep calming breath, centered herself, her emotions, she wasn't 14 years old anymore for Christ sake. "I made a wish, that they could live normal lives, that we all could, so they forgot. I asked you to erase my parents' memories, to erase my brother's memory of me so they could be safe. I left here because I couldn't handle my own memories, but I'm back now. I'm back to see how everyone is, I'm back for you Luna." She kneeled on the hard ground, scooped the cat up and hugged her to her face, closing her eyes as she nuzzled into the soft fur of Luna's neck. "I am so sorry I left you. I just…wanted everyone to be safe."

'You ran away from everything, from everyone, your guilt had been eating you alive.' The voice said in her head and Usagi tightened her hold on Luna slightly.

"Usagi-chan…" She heard the hitch in Luna's voice and felt her heart crack. It was harder than she thought, to be back here, to say these things to her mentor and protector.

"Please. Let me start over, if anything, let me start over with you. You were always by my side, and I need you still." Usagi whispered and it was the absolute truth. How could she possibly survive being there again, if she was alone?

Minutes passed, minutes of silence between them, as Usagi struggled to hold back her tears, as Luna remained quiet, thoughtful and honestly so very glad to see the Princess was safe, healthy even.

"We can." The cat bumped her head against Usagi's cheek lightly. "We can start over, if you promise not to freak out when I talk this time." The deadpanned joke had laughter bubbling up somewhere deep inside of Usagi's heart as tears spilled from her eyes.

…

"Okay, start with Ami-chan." They sat on the couch in her plain living room as Luna inhaled a bowl of canned tuna fish and Usagi popped a piece of sushi into her mouth, legs folded under her as she watched the cat fondly. "I always knew she was going to go places, but where exactly has she gone?" Ami had been the smartest of the group, the shiest and was always reliable.

Luna looked up from her bowl and licked her whiskers clean. "Ami-chan? She graduated from school early and wanted to follow the same path as her mother. She was 16 when she graduated, she just finished college last year and is in her first year of Graduate school at Tokyo University."

Usagi felt herself fill with pride as she ate another piece of sushi. "A doctor huh?" Grinning she shifted and stretched out her legs, Luna moving to lay in her lap. "No surprise there I suppose. She was always a genius." And she was still close by.

"I check up on all of the girls from time to time, Ami is certainly making her way through life the way she wants. Taking charge of her studies, focusing on what is needed to advance." Luna's head bobbed and Usagi blanched at the thought of studying. Some things never changed, and that was one of those things.

"How about Mako-chan?" Usagi asked, a quick flash of her dream popping into her mind making her go cold. Lifting her hand she pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment to push the images away. "I hope she's done something with food." It was actually a chore, to sounds like her "usual" bubble headed self; had she changed so much?

"You're still such a pig? And here I thought you would have grown out of that." Luna chided and Usagi opened her eyes, puffing up her cheeks in the "proper" response then simply answered back by stuffing another piece of sushi into her mouth. "It just so happens that after she graduated high school she went abroad to France for a few years, and now owns her own bakery and café here in the city, not terribly far from here. It does wonderfully." Luna thought about her own growing stomach and the free scraps Makoto would toss her and blanched, no more tuna meals for her.

Usagi smiled at the thought of Makoto having her own business, living out her dream, so far her own sacrifice had paid off. The girls were living normal lives.

Clearing her throat to shake herself from her own thoughts of being a fat cat, Luna continued.

"Minako ended up going abroad as well, back to the states, I haven't talked to Artemis in a few months but last I heard, she had just finished filming another movie and her career is going rather strong."

"Does she remember anything at all? Anything about being Sailor V?" Luna shook her head to the females question.

"She doesn't even know that Artemis can speak."

Usagi made a soft noise and suddenly felt very sad for both Luna and Artemis, had they been just as lonely as she?

"What about Rei?" The fiery tempered girl with the knack for teasing Usagi had been hard to deal with, but had been her closest friend out of all of them.

"Rei…" Luna hesitated before sitting up in Usagi's lap, turning to face her, tail wrapping around her legs. "Rei is not doing as well as the others." Choosing her words carefully Luna watched the girl before her as she spoke. "She lost her Grandfather two years ago and has taken over the shrine. She seems to have completely secluded herself from the world, I spend quite a lot of time at her shrine, checking up on her. Well, you know Rei…she is satisfied with her work and her crows." It was an unspoken communication, Rei was lonely, and no one could get close enough to the dark haired girl to ease that pain.

Usagi's heart twisted in guilt and she rubbed her arms slowly, thinking of the raven haired girl and her wonderfully vibrant grandfather and struggled to comprehend that he was actually gone. Luna waited for a moment, watched the sadness on her face and made the decision to ask the question she had been wondering if she should avoid since they had found each other again.

"Do you want to know about him?" Luna watched as the woman's face paled as her breath seemed to catch uncomfortably in her chest, blue eyes snapping away from the feline and out of the glass door to the small balcony outside.

"N-no. I…don't want to know. I don't want to know anything." Usagi said as calmly as she could as her heart beat pounded in her ears. "Can you just, tell me about my family. How is everyone? Is Shingo doing well?" She wanted away from that conversation, she wanted away from that feeling of pain, from that feeling of more loss than she ever could have imagined having.

"Ah, yes. Shingo is doing very well, he's in college and has a cute little girlfriend who I think you would adore. Your father is working as hard as always and recently your Mom…" Luna had moved on so quickly from the subject of _him_ that she had forgotten to watch her words. Cutting herself off, Luna straightened and Usagi looked down at the cat.

"She what?" Oh god, she wasn't…

"I'm not sure how to say this, so I'll just go ahead and say it." Usagi braced herself, waited for the feline to tell her her mother had passed away, but something else, something completely different reached her ears instead.

"Well recently she adopted a little girl."

Usagi's eyes shot open as she stared at the cat. Imitating a fish with her mouth opening and closing wordlessly as her mind struggled to process the information she was just given.

"I…excuse me?" Her own voice sounded far away, like someone else all together was just as confused and stunned as she.

"Well, she is a very cute little girl, and what's funny is I think your mother was drawn to her because her hair style is very similar to yours." Luna got it out quickly. It had been indeed amusing to the cat that the little girl seemed just like Usagi, and since it was still her home, she had gotten quite close to the little pink haired girl herself.

"Oh…wow. I…" Usagi tried to shake the shock off but was left lacking the words for a full minute before asking softly, "Name, what's her name?"

"That is actually the most interesting part of it all really." Indeed the cat found it interesting, that Usagi's mother had picked this child even after her memory had been erased completely. Was it perhaps fate? "Her name is Usagi…"

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><p>AN: There you have it! This is the most boring chapter out of the entire story, I promise! I just had to set things up right! Tell me what you think so far!

…Nuclotei


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: So I got a new job and it's been keeping me busy! I went back and edited Chapter One. It was super painful to read guys, why didn't you say anything? I've made a new rule for myself now. I have to wait 24 hours after writing something to post it, which means the following day I have to re-read and edit it. As painful as that'll be for me it's a good thing for my writing and so you all don't have to see as many typos and deal with boring dialogue. Onward, to Chapter Two!

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><p>"…"Dialogue<p>

'…' Thoughts

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Chapter Two

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The day Usagi had arrived in Tokyo, she had gotten off of the plane and slipped into a waiting taxi. Handing over the address of her new place to the driver she kept her eyes forward, shielding herself from the familiar sights that were passing her by in a blur as her mental blocks forced the memories away. Suffering a night full of nightmares, the following day she had tracked down Luna, her mentor and protector who had given her the run down on the lives of the girls that used to be her friends. The night she laid down in bed, Usagi stared out of the bedroom window, eyes heavy as her brain thought through their conversation. Everyone was alive and well for the most part, everyone was at least safe, and her mother had adopted a child.

"A child." Usagi peered around the wall in front of her old house, staring at the front door as she chewed on her lower lip in nervousness and thought. What kind of child was it exactly?

The day had been spent buying things for her new apartment, necessities of course, which meant lots of food for snacking. Her cooking hadn't improved much over the years, much to her chagrin and many cooking classes she enrolled herself in all had ended as miserable failures. It wasn't all bad though, as she stood in front of her refrigerator, hands on her hips as she nodded to herself in approval at the freezer packed neatly with as many frozen meals as it could handle; her organizational skills had improve immensely.

Now the sun was beginning to set, as the noise of katydids rose and fell through the humid air, and thunder rumbled softly in the distance. Usagi watched the front door to the house as memories of sleeping in late, breakfast being made by her mother while her father sat at the table and read the daily paper, and her brother teasing her relentlessly made her eyes fill with tears.

"Mama…" Closing her eyes for a moment Usagi pressed her forehead to the warm wall she was leaning against and thought for a moment that she'd give anything to be in middle school again, failing tests and getting scolded.

"How about we have pancakes tonight, ChibiUsa?" The voice shot through her like a lightning bolt as she straightened her body, eyes opening quickly and peering down the sidewalk where the faint sound had come from.

"Pancakes? Really? Can we put chocolate chips in them?" Blue eyes landed on her mother and Usagi felt her heart clench in her chest as the slightly older, but still beautiful woman walked hand in hand with a child with pink hair tied up like rabbit ears. They were both carrying a single grocery bag and the child, ChibiUsa was smiling up at Ikuko like a child would to her mother as the older woman laughed.

"I suppose we can, but we can't have it like that all of the…" Ikuko stopped as she neared the house, her eyes landing on Usagi as the wind blew her purple hair softly around her face.

"Mama? What's wrong?" ChibiUsa tugged gently on Ikuko's hand to get her attention.

"That woman, I feel like…I've seen her before." The purple haired woman said in wonder. ChibiUsa turned her eyes from Ikuko to look down the sidewalk curiously.

"There isn't anyone there Mama."

Usagi pressed her back against the wall around the corner where she had hidden, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed silently, a hand pressed against her stomach, the other covering her mouth. 'Mama, you look so happy. I'm so glad you're okay.' She thought even as her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. It had been so much harder than she thought it would be, even after she had spent half of the day lecturing herself , telling herself that as long as everyone was safe and happy everything would be fine.

…

As the clouds rolled in, the sun winked out of existence behind the earth and the rumbling of thunder grew closer. The wind had begun to pick up, blowing old papers and light pieces of trash down the street as traffic for the evening started to clear out, people going home to their families and dinner. Usagi walked slowly down the sidewalk as people moved around her, hurried to get to their locations as rain threatened to fall overhead.

Her eyes burned from crying, head aching from the strain of doing so and she chided herself for being so weak. Was it so easy to fall back into old routines now that she was back, so many years later? The crybaby, the whining girl who was always hungry or tired, who never wanted to study, who never wanted to fight.

Stepping down off of the curb at a crosswalk, skirt swishing against her thighs she shook her head at herself. She was different now, things were different, there wasn't anyone to fight, there was no one left to protect, there was no one…The thought trailed off as rain began to fall from the clouds above. Umbrellas popped open around her and she looked up and let a few cool droplets hit her face.

"Look out!" A man shouted in the distance and she vaguely registered the sound of the crosswalk song ending, saw the flash of the stoplight changing and heard the horn and squeal of tires far too late to react.

Dying happened much slower than she imagined it would. Her head turned, eyes landing on the car speeding towards her as its headlights filled her vision. There was a scream, a hard impact that knocked her from her feet, knocked the air from her lungs and her eyes closed as the world seemed to fade away.

'Go towards the light.' Usagi told herself, and then she felt the stinging scrape on the outside of her left thigh react as a drop of cold rain irritated it.

"Are you alright?" The voice above her was warm, the arms around her were warm and the smell that surrounded her was that of roses. Her hands reached up, as her eyes opened slowly, fingers meeting the firm surface of a chest covered by a button down shirt and tangled there.

Red rose pedals fell around her, dropping in her hair, on her face and neck, on her torso and on the ground around her.

"Mamoru?" Voice cracking, she flicked her blue eyes upward to the face of her savior and her breath caught in her throat. Violet eyes looked down at her, framed by silver hair and Usagi blinked rapidly as rainwater dropped down onto her face, shocking her from her stupor.

"I did protect you. But, that's not my name." He chuckled softly, his voice warm, a ruined bouquet of red roses clenched in his left hand, his right arm around her, holding her upper body off of the concrete.

"I am so…" She couldn't get the words out as embarrassment flooded her, causing her cheeks to redden.

"Are you alright?" He lowered his face some, lowered his voice to a whisper, studying her own face and her embarrassment as he dropped the ruined flowers and brought his hand up to gently brush her blonde bangs from her face.

"I'm…fine. Thank you." Usagi looked down to where her hands clenched onto his shirt and she quickly released him, clearing her throat and received another chuckle from him.

"It's really no problem, it would be a shame to see such a beautiful woman be seriously injured." His right arm tightened around her and effortlessly he stood straight, bringing her up to her feet and resting against his chest as he did so.

"Oh, oh…holy god." Usagi whispered under her breath as suddenly she noticed the people gathered around them as they started clapping.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Her eyes moved back up to his and she shook her head no slowly.

"I think I can manage it." She spoke softly to him and he inclined his head and smiled as he slowly let her go, taking a step back to give her her space and let her collect herself.

"Until next time then, Princess." He bowed to her slightly, violet eyes seeming caring, or was it amused? She couldn't tell nor did she think anything of it as a kind woman offered her an extra umbrella by holding it out over her head.

Usagi turned to her, gratefully accepting and when she turned back to thank the man once again, he was gone.

…

He watched her through the round glass, hands resting on either side of it, he had held his breath, though he no longer needed to breathe as she was nearly hit by the car, as his plans were nearly ruined. But there had been a savior, a handsome Prince that had practically flown down on his white steed and swept the woman off of her feet and out of danger.

A low chuckle rumbled from a place deep inside of him as the image of the two, the blonde and the silver haired man faded slowly. It was amazing what a few dreams, a few nudges in the right direction could do to set fate in motion.

The balance had been shifted in the wrong direction but with her help…

With her…

He chuckled lowly once again as the glass orb in front of him lit up with a picture of a woman, beautiful and strong before plunging into darkness.

…everything would be his.

The world.

Time.

Everything.

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><p>AN: Finally, an update! Short but still an update! I hope you all don't maim me. I need to get a better direction with this story I think, what do you all think? Let me know! I think it's a good idea…just hard to put down on paper and keep interesting. I REALLY want your feedback!

-Nuclotei


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: I haven't updated in way too long, but as my profile states, I'm making sure that I start updating things more frequently. I have lots of writings to accomplish by the end of this year!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just scream them up to entertain fans.

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><p><em>Dreams<em>

'…thoughts…'

"…speech…"

_Down the Rabbit Hole_

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Chapter Three

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"_Look at her, always with her nose in a book, always stuck up. She never speaks to anyone, does she even have any friends? I bet she scared them all away, and any boyfriends too. All smarts and no looks doesn't make for good dating material after all."_

_Usagi glanced up from her textbook which sat in her lap, a comic hidden within the pages and towards the group of girls whispering to her left. Following her gaze to a blue haired girl with her own nose in a text book she furrowed her brows. A hand tightened on her pen and it was obvious that just because she was reading it didn't mean she couldn't hear the whispers._

"_Ah, Ami-san?" Usagi leaned forward on her desk, waving a hand towards the other in a loud whisper. Startled the blue hair girl lifted her head quickly and looked back at blonde. _

"_Y-yes?" With a goofy smile Usagi leaned a bit closer._

"_If you're not busy after class, do you want to eat lunch together?"_

_The smile that was given in response faded away as the air turned cold in the classroom._

"_Ami-san?" Usagi stood up as the sun sank below the horizon and in a blink of an eye the desks were empty. She was alone in the classroom. "Hello…?" Taking a step forward, her voice brought with it a puff of white as goose bumps danced along her skin. _

"_Hello!" Tipping her head back she yelled the word then flinched as something cold brushed her cheek. Holding out a white glove covered hand she watched as snow began to fall. _

"_If you had been smarter," The whisper was soft, the words as cold as the ice that surrounded her as she felt warm breath stir her ear. Turning quickly to look behind her, she saw nothing but a flat white landscape. "Then maybe you could have saved us." Again that voice whispered and then there was nothing. _

_Blue eyes closed tightly as her fists clenched, moving up against her chest. _

"_Mercury?" The words were whispered and when her eyes opened again she watched the body of the blue haired girl fall to the ice, burnt and lifeless._

"_Ami-chan!" _

The cry echoed around the mostly barren apartment and Usagi jerked awake, heart pounding, eyes watering as she moved both of her hands up to her face. Palms pressed against her eyes as she forced her breathing to slow.

She knew it had been coming the moment her head had touched the pillow as her eyes had drifted closed, taking in the scenery of the lit city from beyond the glass in her bedroom.

"Usagi-chan?" The bed sunk down barely, but enough to be noticed as a black cat padded silently over to the woman who struggled to get a hold of herself. "Usagi-chan, it's alright." A soft furred head bumped against the blonde's forearm and Usagi lowered her hands slowly. "It was just a dream." Luna promised with a tone that was soft like a mothers.

"Yeah." Usagi nodded as she stared up at the white ceiling above. It had just been a dream…for them.

…

It was cooler that day, a soft breeze blowing through the trees of the shrine, rustling green leaves that whispered softly in the air. A group of girls moved up the shrine steps, giggling, huddling together. They were eager to get their fortunes read, they were eager to see the priestess of the Hino shrine as well. Word spread through their high school like wildfire when she had given a reading of good fortune to Mari on the track team. Everyone knew she wasn't the fastest runner but the meet the following day had been won by her, just as predicted.

So they came in gawking groups, hoping to get good news of their own and as it boosted her business that had been suffering since the death of her grandfather; Rei was happy to accommodate.

"I heard she's beautiful, that men fall at her feet when they see her and that she's already turned down three marriage proposals." One girl said in hushed tones to her five other friends as they reached the top of the shrine steps.

"I bet she's not a priestess at all, she's probably an Oni who sucks the life out of young girls to stay forever young and beautiful." Another stated and the girls giggled.

"Can I help you?" Her long raven hair blew softly in the window around her shoulders. She wore the traditional garb of the priestess and the colors fit her nicely. Purity and fire though she didn't realize just how close to them she really was.

"Yes!" The tallest girl stepped forward as the others clamed up, far too shy to ask for their fortunes of the beautiful woman in front of them. "We'd like our fortunes read please." Rei smiled politely and bowed her head.

"Right this way." Turning on her heel she lead them across the smooth stones that covered the ground to a small booth, one side open to the air and the rest closed in. Stepping in behind it she pulled out her supplies and started what she did best.

It didn't make much money, but any money was helpful and so it went.

"Can you believe it? He's going to ask me out!" Off to the side the girls who had their fortune read talked in excited tones as the last girl stepped up.

Closing her eyes Rei breathed in deeply then out slowly, in her mind picturing a soft crackling fire that flickered in her vision. Concentrating she breathed in deeply again. It was hard to see visions of people like the one in front of her, they were always fuzzy, their fates weren't important enough in the grand scheme of things to come through clearly, but this girl…she was different somehow.

"The winds of change blow around you," her brows furrowed downward as she spoke the words softly. There was something there, something great she was feeling - great and terrifying.

"I see an enormous battle in your future, a sacrifice, a challenge of the heart and mind." The tall girl stared at the Priestess in confusion as the other girls slowly quieted, all turning to look at Rei as she continued.

"If you lose, everything will fall. Your family, your friends..." The words were spoken softly and Rei shivered as she felt cold sweat run down her spine.

"What…?" The younger girl stepped back, her friends wrapping their hands around her arms.

"Come on, let's get out of here, this is weird." One of the girls urged as they turned and moved away quickly.

"The world will burn…" Rei opened her eyes slowly, staring blankly for a moment at the spot the girls had stood before tipping her chin up, looking towards the stairs. Her dark plum eyes found bright blue and her breath caught.

"It was her future." Whispering the words Rei watched as the blonde haired woman moved forward, a black cat walking beside her. Who was she…?

Usagi moved forward and tried not to fidget, she was nervous and as much as she had grown Rei looked…amazing. Clearing her throat softly she stopped a few feet from the booth, clasping her hands behind her back where she twisted her fingers together. She had been lonely, Luna had said, she had been completely alone since her Grandfather had passed away.

"Would you like to come in for tea?" The words that were spoken surprised both woman, and Usagi tipped her head to the side before giving a smile, heart fluttering in her chest.

"That would be nice." How was she supposed to act, she wondered as she followed Rei as the dark haired woman turned and lead her to a room so familiar those butterflies inside of her turned into a dull ache. They had all studied there together, talked and hung out, became friends and in some ways closer than that.

'We were family.' The thought breezed through Usagi as she slipped her shoes off, moving to step up into the room and in normal fashion tripped. With a yelp of surprise her hand came out in front of her and went through the paper door, punching a hole through it as the wooden pieces snapped under the pressure. Landing with a grunt, chin thumping on the wooden floor her eyes watered as she bit her tongue and Rei was by her side in an instant.

"A-are you alright?" Kneeling down the priestess offered her hand to Usagi and helped pull her up. She had seemed so graceful walking towards the booth, elegant almost. Had Rei been mistaken?

"I am so, so sorry." Sniffling softly to ease her tears she sat down at the low tabled, curling her legs under her. 'Owowow.' Internally she whined and saw her black cat heave what looked like a sigh before she turned and trotted away silently.

"It's alright, here." Grabbing two glasses Rei sat down across from Usagi, pouring her iced tea and folded her hands on her lap after.

"Thank you." Oh god, how embarrassing was this? She had completely ruined that door and she'd only been there for two seconds. "I can…pay for that." Nodding back to the door she gave a sheepish smile and Rei waved a hand.

"Oh don't worry about it. I can repair it, happens all of the time." 'If you're completely klutzy and careless in someone else's home.' Her dark purple eyes watched the blonde as she took a sip of tea. "What brought you here today?"

"Oh, that's…I just moved back to Tokyo and was hoping for a little good fortune." Usagi sat the glass down a bit firmly in her nervousness only to have it too close to the edge so it teetered off and dumped promptly in her lap. "…"

"Oh my goodness." Somehow, Rei didn't feel surprised at all as she simply reached back, grabbing a small hand towel from the tray she had set on the floor behind her and leaned forward, handing it over. 'God, she's going to destroy my house just sitting there!'

"It's really not my day." Nervous laughter bubbled up as Usagi wiped ineffectively at her tea stained jeans and thanked her lucky stars it hadn't been hot tea. Rei studied her as she furrowed her brows ever so slightly. Somehow this woman felt so familiar. The feeling of slight annoyance, of concern, of seeing her sit there across from her.

"Well," Rei started then paused as she watched another group of high school students wander up the shrine stairs. "Hopefully it'll get better, you'll have to excuse me…ah."

"Tsukino Usagi." Usagi stood up as Rei did and extended her hand. "I'm really sorry to have caused you such trouble, I ah…I'd like to come back and get my fortune read sometime, if that's alright?" As Rei clasped hands with the slightly shorter girl her stomach muscles tightened and she pushed away a feeling of dread, and of protectiveness.

"I'd like that. I hope to see you soon." Moving past Usagi, Rei took in a deep silent breath. This was someone she needed to keep an eye on. 'Probably self destructive or something.' Brushing away the feelings and putting on a smile for the group Rei went back to work.

"That wasn't so bad." Usagi looked after Rei then moved away from the comfortable but quiet house and headed down the stairs past the laughing group of high school kids a soft smile on her face.

"I think it was a good visit, since you only managed to break one thing." Passing the slow wall at the bottom of the stairs Luna jumped up on Usagi's shoulders and perched there as the blond walked down the side walk, heading back into the busier part of the city.

"Very funny." Rolling her eyes, she smacked a hand down against her wet thigh lightly, still very much tea stained and rounded the corner.

"Leave me alone!" The cry of a girl up ahead caught her attention in time to see two tails of pink disappear between a chain link fence, three boys who looked to be middle school age running after the yelling girl.

"Was that-?" With a nod Usagi frowned, setting Luna on the sidewalk and ran to the fence that was a barrier to a construction sight, where there was a gap big enough for the children to fit through that was just big enough for Usagi to reach her arm through.

"Look at that stupid hair of hers."

"Yeah, why are you called Usagi anyway? Are you a rabbit? Do you like carrots?"

"Look at the stupid hair style she has, let's cut it, maybe she'll fit in more then. Her parents will probably thank us." The boys crowded around Chibi-Usa as she backed into the opposite side of the fence, clutching her book bag to her chest.

"Where did you get that color dye anyway?" Reaching up one of the boys shoved her and Usagi sucked in a breath the same time Chibi-Usa did.

"Leave her-" The blonde started to shout.

"Leave me alone!" The little pink haired girl screamed, shutting her eyes as a sudden burst of light came from her. Usagi squinted her eyes closed, holding up a hand as a strong gust of wind blew towards her, kicking up dust and the sound of three bodies thumping down against the ground was heard.

"Usagi-chan!" Luna hissed at her as she opened her eyes slowly and laced her fingers in the fence to stare at the crescent moon symbol in gold slowly started to fade away on the smaller girl's forehead; the three boys were laying on the ground, unmoving.

Eyes widening , Usagi moved a hand over her mouth, holding her breath for a moment as she stared silently at the pink haired girl whose cheeks were slowly being stained with tears. "What…was that…?" She breathed out the words softly, then felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as the air in front of Chibi-Usa shimmered and then as if using magic a body appeared floating in the air just in front of the girl.

"We've been looking for you everywhere, rabbit." It was a woman, her hair a shocking orange, and wearing little but a lime green loin cloth and matching top, her skin seeming to shimmer an iridescent white.

"W-who are you?" Chibi-Usa clutched her bag tighter, staring wide eyed up at the creature that towered over her.

A hand moved to Usagi's chest on instinct, clutching the empty fabric there as a pain of loss moved through her seeming to stab into her very soul. She couldn't transform, and that was a…

Sickness rolled in her stomach as her free hand tightened on the chain length fence. "Usagi-chan, Usagi…" Luna urged her, head butting her knee and the voice fell on deaf ears as the woman's heart beat pounding painfully in her chest, taking her breath away.

"Come here little rabbit, and we can make stew together." A chortling laugh was offered as the youma reached out, fingers looking extra long with sharp blades for nails. "I bet you taste wonderful."

Inside of her, something stirred and Usagi sucked in a deep breath before letting out a scream. "Hey!" It was at the top of her lungs, making her voice crack as she reared back and kicked the fence hard. Her angered yell echoed through the steel beams of the building being built and her kick caused the fence to rattle hard, sending a stack of wooden boards toppling over and collapsing down onto the bright haired woman. Reaching through the fence, hand outstretched as far as she could make it go she reached for her mother's adopted child, blue eyes determined. "Come on, Usagi-chan!" She commanded in a hurried voice and the little girl stared for a moment then ran to her blond haired savior.

Tugging her through the space in the fence Usagi scooped the pink girl up in her arms and turned, running down the side walk.

"This way!" She could hear the faint voice of Luna who was running ahead of her, leading them away from the city and the small arms of the little girl in her arms held tight around her neck, tight to her shirt.

'I have to get her away from here.' The desperate thought rolled through her as her legs worked hard, shoes cracking against the pavement with each sprinting stride.

"It's coming!" The frightened voice of the girl holding tight drove her to run faster, the light of day seeming to wink out as Usagi ran under and overpass. "Look out!" The words came only moments before white hot pain shot through her leg and sent the two girls flying. Grip lost on Chibi-Usa, Usagi watched helplessly as the little girl dropped to the grass as her own breath was knocked from her lungs as she landed hard on the pavement.

"Usagi-chan!" The blond called out then let out a short scream as the ground beside her exploded, sending her sliding farther away from the little girl and covering her head.

"She's okay, she's just unconscious, we have to get out of here." Luna ran towards the blond, stopping by her quickly. "Usagi-chan, you have to be protected." The black cat turned her attention to the youma and hissed, putting up her hackles.

"Little girls should stay out of the way." Chided the brightly colored monster as she raised her hand, a bright ball of light forming.

'Get up, get up.' Usagi commanded herself mentally as she pushed her hands down against the ground, legs shaking as she stood.

"Usagi-chan, take the girl and run!" Turning quickly she watched as Luna ran towards the youma, claws outstretched then shielded her eyes as a bright light erupted and the cat landed hard on the ground by Chibi-Usa.

"Luna!" Clenching her hands to her chest Usagi felt tears sting her eyes, tears of helplessness and anger. "You think you can pick on small children and animals and no one is going to stand in the way?" Turning towards the larger woman Usagi gripped the front of her shirt harder. 'Please.' She begged silently. 'Please don't let me down.' "I guess you're new in town, because that's not something I'm going to stand for." She shifted then as the woman in front of her laughed, another ball of light forming in her hand.

'Please.'

"Moon Prism Power…" Moving her hand out to the side she closed her eyes. "Make up!" The words echoed under the overpass followed by silence and then…laughter.

"What was that supposed to do?" Smirking the youma tapped her finger to her chin. "Cute speech, maybe I'll recycle it, add my own flare. But for now, you're standing in our way." Her hand thrust forward as Usagi watched the ball of energy come towards her and slam into her like a ton of bricks.

The wind was knocked from her lungs, just as the hope winked out from her soul as she landed hard on her back and slid along the grass. 'Luna, I'm so sorry…' Reaching out towards the cat and the fallen girl black spots danced in front of her vision, closing off the world.

"We _will_ win." Turning her head towards the youma, she watched as another ball of light formed in her hand and just before the darkness took over a flash of red streaked between them and a solitary rose imbedded into the ground.

"Mamoru…" Usagi breathed out the name as her world went black.

…

* * *

><p>AN: I have several chapters planned out now, and have a good direction of where I want this story to go! Look forward to more and review to tell me what you all think!

…Nuclotei


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